Non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging agent for in-vivo detection of cardiac fibrosis.

Motivation: Fibrosis is a progressive pathological process that contributes to 45% of deaths worldwide and is associated with the accumulation of collagen and the destruction of tissue architecture. While progression of fibrosis is often slow, early detection is difficult, leading to intervention at late stage when transplant may be the only option. Goal(s): Establish a targeted MRI contrast agent for detecting early fibrosis. Approach: Validation of agent sensitivity in-vivo with isoproterenol-induced heart fibrosis in a mouse model. Results: Our novel fibrosis agent surpassed the sensitivity and specificity of Gd contrast enhanced T1 mapping for detecting mild cardiac fibrosis. Impact: This project sets out to create a new, hitherto inaccessible window on fibrogenesis, providing a new paradigm for diagnosing patients with fibrosis and the study of anti-fibrosis intervention before fibrosis becomes extensive and irreversible.